WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

You may recall Tina Turner’s pop music hit from years ago that posed this question.  As we approach Valentine’s Day—a time designated to celebrate love—it is an uncomfortable conversation we need to have.  Turner’s song was very cynical—conveying that the relationship of man and women is merely physical in nature and love is just a romantic ideal— an antiquated notion.  Many people look at marriage and love that way—even among those who claim Christianity as their faith.

The numbers are staggering.  The shocking statistics from the Federal Government Centers for Disease Control finds 60% of women and 67% of men believe, “Living together before marriage may help prevent divorce.”  The numbers of women and men who agreed, “A young couple should not live together unless they are married has been decreasing from 34.7% in 2002 to 30.8% in 2006-2010, down to 28% in 2013.  I would like to think the attitudes among those in Bible-believing churches would be the reverse of this, but from what I hear and see, those convictions may be eroding.  With each passing year, the culture more than the Scripture seems to direct our morals.

Times have changed—but, God has not.  His standards have not.

Sex isn’t dirty.  It is a precious gift of God who made us sexual beings and designed it for procreation—and also pleasure—within the bounds of holy matrimony. God wasn’t trying to rob us of fun, but rather His commands are for our benefit so that we may experience ultimate joy.  The fact is “trying it out” by cohabitation does not help prevent divorce, but studies show that the guilt and shame—the self-centered baggage—carried into marriage increases the odds the marriage will fail.  A fire in the fireplace can heat your home on a cold winter’s night.  Let that fire escape its barrier and it will burn the house down!

What’s love got to do with it?  Everything—true love, God’s way.  Much of what is described as love today is lust.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4 NKJV)  A sobering truth, isn’t it?  Because I love you, I must warn you.

Thankfully, there is grace and mercy available from the Lord.  We can turn from our sin and seek Him.  His way is always best.  May God use His Word to shape us and His Spirit to convict us in this area. I can go astray in this sexually explicit society.  If I don’t stay close to God and close to my spouse, Satan can find an easy target.  If David, a man after God’s own heart, could yield to temptation, any of us can.  Pray for one another.  Pray for marriages.  Pray for purity.  As we come to Valentine’s Day, may we celebrate true love!